An ultimately morose even morbid teen fantasy, Chronicle has moments of great joy and great power, but it also requires a great amount of suspension of disbelief (not with the fantasy elements but with its “found footage” motif) in order for an audience to buy into its rather tragic tale of teen acceptance and rejection. It's enjoyable, but it leaves a strong aftertaste that's not altogether pleasing.
Chronicle (Blu-ray Combo Pack)
Directed by Josh Trank
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Year: 2012
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 84/89 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.99
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Review Date: May 24, 2012
The Film
3.5/5
Investigating a deep crater made from some kind of meteor in a field, teens Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan), his cousin Matt Garetty (Alex Russell), and high school BMOC Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan) absorb some kind of magnetic energy which gives them great (and growing greater) mental acuity akin to telekinetic powers. They initially use their newly found abilities to play pranks on unsuspecting victims at school and in the neighborhood, but as their mental strength grows, they’re able to move heavy objects and even levitate them and eventually themselves so they have the ability to fly. But these newly-gained powers affect each boy’s psyche differently with the abused at home and at school Andrew the most negatively affected by his growing sense of supremacy becoming unwilling any more to be anyone’s punching bag or to take guff from even those who wish him no harm.
Max Landis’ screenplay based on a story by him and director Josh Trank employs the “found footage” motif for telling its story. Thus, Andrew and Matt’s girl friend Casey (Ashley Hinshaw) are making video records of practically everything they do (taking their cameras to school, parties, inside cars and stores) in implausible circumstances under the best of conditions. (Late in the film, there seems to be no camera available, so we see things happening without a viable point of view.) One must simply accept this absurd notion of a camera going everywhere to buy into the rest of the story, and if one does this, he’ll find a very mixed bag of frolic that suddenly becomes moodily dark and painfully horrific. The film seems to be setting up physiological changes going on within the boys (their noses bleed at regular intervals sometimes even when they aren’t using their powers suggesting their exposure to this meteor might eventually be fatal), but no proper groundwork has been laid for the Jekyll/Hyde transformation that Andrew undergoes during the course of the movie. We feel for his situation with a drunken, abusive father (Michael Kelly) and a mother (Bo Petersen) dying from cancer and the focus of bullying jerks at school, but his new abilities should have opened up the world to him rather than grounding him in the dead end existence of his life in Seattle. Despite the narrative lapses (including a no-holds-barred destructive orgy in the film’s third act that goes on way too long), the film’s best scenes are the more lyrical ones as the guys zoom through the clouds playing football and generally bask in their newfound abilities (Steve and Andrew have lunch on scaffolding high above the city with no dizzying fear of heights after their flights through the clouds). The early pranks they play are typical teen mischief even if their incessant guffawing suggests nothing so much as a Jackass reunion. The ending does open the possibility of a sequel if the film’s middling box-office success warrants one.
The three teens are all played beautifully by Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, and Michael B. Jordan. It isn't DeHaan's fault that his character's motivations and thought processes aren't well mapped out by the screenwriter. He offers a rather heartbreaking look at the effects that bullying and abuse can leave on a psyche. Russell and especially Jordan have charisma to spare as popular teens without the baggage that DeHaan's Andrew must lug around. Ashley Hinshaw is another of the teens whose motivations aren't clearly defined (and she seems less teen-like than her three male compatriots). Michael Kelly's one-dimensional abusive father certainly leaves no doubts about his motivations though again, the actor is merely playing what was on the page.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film is presented in its 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio with a transfer measuring 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. Shot digitally (of course), the differing quality of the varying video material is well represented within the transfer. The best scenes come off sharp and clear with excellently controlled color and realistic and appealing flesh tones. Black levels aren't the deepest, but that's often the case with this kind of movie. The film, both in its theatrical version and its director’s cut, has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio Quality
4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is a remarkable achievement given the tight budget of this production. There is plenty of low level bass to be found in the LFE channel while the front and rear surrounds are alive with plenty of split effects when warranted (A rave the boys attend is particularly effective aurally). Dialogue is always easily understandable, and while most of it is found in the center channel, there are occasional bits of directionalized dialogue. Music also gets filtered through the fronts and rears when appropriate.
Special Features
2.5/5
The disc offers both the theatrical release (84 minutes) and an extended directors cut (89 minutes). With the same number of chapters in each, the extra few minutes was likely due to some extensions of some scenes. The extended cut was used for the purposes of this review.
There is one deleted scene which lasts 1 ¼ minutes and is in 1080p.
Pre-Viz is a computer-generated visualization of the flying/football sequence in the movie which runs 7 ¾ minutes in 480i.
A camera test runs 4 minutes using some other actors performing several scenes in the movie that require special effects. It’s in 1080p.
The theatrical trailer runs 2 ¼ minutes in 1080p.
The disc is BD-Live ready though there is nothing on the Fox website relating specifically to Chronicle.
There are promo trailers for Prometheus and Act of Valor.
The second disc in the case is the combination DVD/digital copy of the movie with enclosed instructions for transferring to PC or Mac devices.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Generally enjoyable but certainly a cautionary fable of power corrupting, Chronicle makes a fine Blu-ray release with excellent video and audio. Those willing to take it at face value will likely have a very good time with its sullen but affecting story.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
